Philodendron plant

ABSTRACT

A Philodendron plant of very compact rosette form having thick narrowly ovate to elliptic leaves, the leaves being dark-brick red becoming dark-reddish-green when mature. The petioles are black-red, short, thickened and prominently winged.

BACKGROUND AND DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention comprises new and distinct cultivar ofPhilodendron plant which is the result of selecting a seedling fromcrosses of the Philodendrons wendlandii, domesticum, erubescens, imbe,with an unnamed species, and in turn crossing this selection withPhilodendron cannifolium. From this cross, a single seedling wasselected for propagation which resulted in this invention.

An extensive program of Philodendron hybridization has been carried onin the vicinity of Orlando, Fla. and is being continued. Much of theeffort is directed toward developing tough, leathery, Philodendron whichare compact, self-heading, excellent keepers and have distinctive color.The Philodendron of the instant invention is very compact, low growing,a true rosette and approaches the above objectives. I have chosen tocall it "Prince Albert" for commercial identification.

I have caused this new variety to be asexually reproduced from tipcuttings and from crown off-shoots and determined that it comes true insuccessive generations. Since the plant is so compact, vegetativepropagation is not commercially feasible. The plant can be mass producedby tissue culturing, and has been found to retain its distinctivecharacteristics through successive asexual reproduction as beforestated.

My new variety has been exposed to various conditions in severallocations. It has maintained its form and color under adverseconditions, thus is considered to be a superior indoor foliage plant.

The new variety is distinctive from other philodendrons in cultivationand is not described by Graf, Bailey or DAS Pflanzenreich. The varietywith which it may be most nearly compared is the Philodendron "BlackCardinal" of U.S. Plant Pat. No. 5,355. This comparison applies only tothe dark red color of the two plants. Growth habits of the plants arevery dissimilar. There are other differences which are noted hereinafterand make the new variety distinctive.

The new variety is visually distinguished by the followingcharacteristics of the leaf, including a narrowly ovate to elliptic formwith cordate base and acute tip. The margin of the leaf is entire.

Pinnate veination is notable, with smooth prominate midribs, being aboutthree fourths of the length.

The petioles are erect, short, thickened and prominently winged with theleaves being nearly horizonal to erect with internodes 1/2" or less.Since the plant essentially does not have a stem, the petioles appear tobe coming from the crown.

The most distinctive aspect of the new variety is its growth habit andthe color of the leaves and petioles. To my knowledge this is the mostcompact philodendron available, and while the leaf shape and size arevery different from "Black Cardinal", the general brick-red to black-redcolor is very similar providing the same spectacular impression. Newleaves are brick-red, older leaves black-red and mature leaves aregreen.

Certain of the physical characteristics of my new variety are of valuein the commercial trade including the fact that the plant breaks freelyfrom the crown giving rise to a clump of plants thereby filling the pot,whereas with other philodendrons, three plants are usually planted in asix inch pot to provide a full, well-balanced pot at selling time.

This variety will withstand low light and low soil moisture for weeks.Actually a low soil moisture content is desirable for maintaining ahealthy plant in an indoor situation. Low humidity and temperaturefluctuations are not particularly troublesome with this plant under mostconditions. The leaves are thick and leathery and withstand bruising anddehyration without wilting.

My new variety is moderately resistant to bacterial leaf rot and doesnot appear to be affected by the physiological problem referred to inthe trade as "shot gun" fungus.

Since this plant is very compact, bushy and spreading, the width in amature plant is most often greater than the height, and does not needstaking. An advantage of this plant is that at an early age, four inchpot size, it shows the true color and form of the mature plant. Growthof the younger plants seems to be moderately slow. This comes from thevery compact growth habit. Growth rate is average for mature plants. Theaverage height of year-old plants is 12" with 24" diameter. The growthcharacteristics of this plant make it ideal for dish gardens, drift-woodarrangements, ground cover or fillers in large plantings. It is anexcellent low-growing specimen plant.

The growth of the plant indoors is good since it retains its desiredform, size and color longer than most Philodendrons known to becurrently available.

Since the instant variety shares some of the characteristics of priorPhilodendron varieties and specifically those of U.S. Plant Pat. No.5,355 "Black Cardinal", specific reference thereto is omitted and thedetails of the instant variety are emphasized in the following detailedspecifications, based on observations made in the vicinity of Orlando,Fla.

The accompanying drawing forming a part of this disclosure, shows atypical plant of the new variety with the colors being as nearly true aspossible in illustrating the variety hereof made by photographic means.

Color references are made to the Nickerson Color Fan published byMunsell Color Company, with observations being recorded by daylightillumination under vinyl of not more than 30% shade.

FORM CHARACTERISTICS

1. Leaf shape:

a. Mature.--Ovate to elliptic.

b. Immature.--Narrowly ovate.

c. Tip.--Acute.

d. Base.--(1) Mature: Cordate. (2) Immature: Cordate.

e. Displacement.--Undulate.

f. Margin.--Entire.

g. Veination.--Smooth midrib, sunken veins.

2. Leaf attachment: Petiolate.

3. Leaf arrangement: Alternate; slightly horizontal to vertical.

4. Petiole: Short, erect, thickened, distinctly winged at base of plant.

5. Stem: Very short, appears to be nonexistent, leaves arise fromthickened crown.

6. Overall appearance: Compact, self-heading, true rosette, freestanding.

SIZE CHARACTERISTICS OF TYPICAL COMMERCIAL SIZE

1. Leaf:

a. Width-widest point.--6".

b. Width-1" from top.--1"-11/4".

c. Length.--10".

d. Thickness.--0.016".

2. Petioles:

a. Length.--7".

b. Diameter (center).--1/2".

c. Internode spacing.--1/4" to 1/2".

d. Stem diameter.--1".

COLOR CHARACTERISTICS

1. Leaf (mature):

a. Top.--27-16.

b. Bottom.--28-15.

2. Leaf (immature):

a. Top.--33-16.

b. Bottom.--35-16.

3. Leaf veination:

a. Midrib.--29-16.

b. Veins.--30-16.

4. Stem (darker): 41-16.

5. Petiole (darker): 41-16.

I claim:
 1. A new and distinct variety of Philodendron plant,substantially as herein shown and described, characterized particularlyas to novelty by the unique combination of compact rosette form withthick narrowly ovate to elliptic leaves, which are dark, brick-red coloras new leaves becoming dark-reddish-green at maturity, petioles ofblack-red, short thickened prominently winged form, presenting over alla very compact, bushy, spreading plant of a height substantially lessthan its spread.